However, knowing that this so-called "heart disease" could be cured put Shang Shaoyan's mind at ease. The remaining lingering concern was his doubt about the origin of the poison.
However, Shang Shaoyan did not plan to start the investigation immediately. There were only a few families with whom he had a feud and whose influence was strong enough, so it wouldn't be difficult to find them. Right now, the more important things were to remove the poison from Shang Yunlan's body and to find a way to get to the Northwest.
To command the Shang army, one must be either a son or daughter of a merchant family, and also possess a tiger tally—Shang Shaoyan had previously checked his own dressing case and found that he only had half of it, while the other half was probably in the palace, in the hands of Emperor Chen.
Otherwise, Emperor Chen would not have shown such favor to Shang Yunlan, almost as if she were a junior.
As she pondered, she played with the half of the tiger tally. The Boshan incense burner beside her was filled with sweet pear-scented incense. Normally, Shang Shaoyan would have had it replaced with something else, but today she was preoccupied with her own thoughts and forgot about it.
Just as Shang Shaoyan was about to go to bed, she heard Bai Xue say that Granny Li had arrived. She immediately got up and said, "Quickly, call Granny Li in."
When Li Mama saw Shang Shaoyan half-lying on the bed, she laughed: "This old servant waited for the county princess and the duke to finish their business before coming, but I didn't expect the county princess to be about to retire for the night."
Shang Shaoyan chuckled and said, "It's alright. I took a nap at the inn today, so I can't really fall asleep right now."
Granny Li took Shang Shaoyan's hand and sat down. She carefully examined Shang Shaoyan before letting out a sigh of relief: "This old servant was always worried that the county princess would lose weight if she didn't eat well in Shuzhou. Now it seems that she has actually gained two pounds."
Shang Shaoyan said helplessly, "The old nanny always makes fun of me."
Granny Li smiled and patted Shang Shaoyan's hand: "Whether the county princess is fat or thin, she is very beautiful... I came to bother you so late, but it's for something else."
As she spoke, the smile on Li Mama's face faded slightly: "Not long after you left Shengjing, Princess, news spread from the palace that Consort Shu is pregnant again."
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
She actually knew about it, but how could she pretend not to know? She not only knew that Consort Shu was pregnant, but also that she would later be diagnosed with a false pregnancy, and that the Empress would eventually discover the truth.
Yes, because the whole thing was planned by her and Shang Yunlan.
But she still didn't fully trust Granny Li, so she pretended not to understand: "This matter..."
A glint of light flashed in Li Mama's eyes: "A few days ago, during the Lantern Festival, this old servant accompanied the Duke to the palace for a banquet. Unexpectedly, I ran into Consort Shu. This old servant could tell at a glance that she was probably not pregnant. Moreover, the way she looked at the Duke, the more I thought about it, the more I felt something was wrong. I'm afraid she's infatuated with the Duke."
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
She was about to break down.
Granny Li continued, "This old servant is thinking, should we report this matter to Consort Zhao? Consort Shu is in love with the Duke. If someone with ulterior motives finds out, it won't be the favored Consort Shu who suffers..."
The unspoken implications are chilling.
But Shang Shaoyan might not be human. Not only was she not afraid, she stared intently at Granny Li and said in a low voice, "Granny, you should remember that as a subject, you should not meddle in the affairs of the inner palace!"
Granny Li sat firmly on the edge of the bed, and after a long while she smiled: "Princess, what you and the Duke did goes far beyond meddling in the inner palace."
Shang Shaoyan stared at Li Mama's face with a sharp gaze. Even Li Xuan and Chen Shu couldn't withstand this kind of gaze, but Li Mama actually held her own. She patted Shang Shaoyan's hand cheerfully: "You two don't intend to hide it from this old servant. You'll find out if you pay a little attention. This old servant dares to guess that you're waiting for this old servant to express his opinion, right? If I don't support you, then I'm afraid what awaits this old servant is death."
Shang Shaoyan smiled as well. Li Mama's words were tantamount to affirming her and Shang Yunlan's actions: "I originally thought Mama was a loyal person."
Granny Li's smile remained unchanged as she looked at Shang Shaoyan with affection: "This old servant is loyal, but only to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, not to the royal family."
Shang Shaoyan neither said she believed her nor disbelieved her—she was indeed waiting for Li Mama to pledge her allegiance. After all, Shang Shaoyan knew that many times a small leak could sink a great ship; if Li Mama couldn't be won over, it wouldn't be difficult for her to bring the matter to the attention of the royal family. But she couldn't completely trust Li Mama; who knew what she was really thinking?
Shang Shaoyan said this the next day while taking a walk with Shang Yunlan.
Shang Yunlan ruffled Shang Shaoyan's hair helplessly, almost ruining her newly combed hair bun, which made Shang Shaoyan glare at him. He boldly ruffled it again, and then spoke before Shang Shaoyan got angry: "An'an, I don't want you to always be so suspicious and sensitive. Although this trait is important for us to achieve great things, you are still young and can't start to worry and exert yourself so early."
He paused, then chuckled and sighed, "It's my brother's fault for being useless. If I were in better health..."
Shang Shaoyan glared at him fiercely: "You're very useful, how are you useless? Don't say that next time, you'll be better soon!"
Shang Yunlan smiled and nodded, but his heart sank a little. This morning, Lin Jing told him that the process of removing the poison was very dangerous, and he only had a 70% chance of surviving. If he didn't make it through... An'an would be alone again.
“I originally wanted to tell you yesterday, but the county princess seemed very emotionally unstable, so after thinking about it, I only told you, my lord.” At that time, Lin Jing said to Shang Yunlan while preparing medicinal herbs, “If you don’t remove the poison, my lord, you still have five or six years to live. If you do remove the poison, there is a 30% chance that you will die. Have you thought it through, my lord?”
"Brother, what are you thinking about?" Shang Shaoyan keenly noticed Shang Yunlan's absent-mindedness and looked at him with some suspicion. "Is there something you're hiding from me?"
Shang Yunlan snapped out of her reverie and raised an eyebrow: "I was thinking about what to do on your birthday. I wanted to prepare a surprise for you, so don't ask."
Upon hearing this, Shang Shaoyan became even more suspicious—according to Shang Yunlan's habits from his previous life, these things should have been prepared long ago, and he couldn't possibly have started thinking about and planning only ten days before his birthday.
But she didn't press the matter further. Instead, she followed up on Shang Yunlan's words and said, "Then you should prepare well! This is my first birthday here."
Shang Yunlan smiled and nodded: "Just accept the gift, I promise it will be a surprise."
...
The Southern Chen Imperial Palace.
With her head bowed and eyes lowered, Yan Yu led several lower-ranking concubines into Chaolu Palace, where Consort Shu resided. This palace had been prepared for Consort Shu by Emperor Chen after she became pregnant.
Originally, Emperor Chen had no such intention. It was only through Consort Zhao's personal request that the favor was granted. Emperor Chen had always doted on Consort Zhao, so naturally he had no choice but to comply.
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